2014 deaths from wrecks in SE Texas reaches 15

By Manuella Libardi

Published 9:30 am, Monday, February 17, 2014

The Camaro that Crystal Boyett's was said to be driving in Monday's wreck in Lumberton.
Photo taken Friday, February 07, 2014
Guiseppe Barranco/@spotnewsshooter
Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

The Camaro that Crystal Boyett's was said to be driving in Monday's...

Fatal wreck on February 2 near Dupont on FM 347. Photo: Monique Batson

Fatal wreck on February 2 near Dupont on FM 347. Photo: Monique Batson

Kelvin Lee Roy
Photo: Jefferson County Courthouse

Kelvin Lee Roy

Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins said Thursday that Dawn Sterling's, one of the passengers from Monday's fatality in Lumberton, condition is improving. Funeral arrangements for Connely Burns, 20; her unborn child; and Burns' sister, 15-year-old Courtney Sterling are being held by Broussard's in Silsbee.
Photo taken Thursday, February 6, 2014
Guiseppe Barranco/@spotnewsshooter
Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins said Thursday that Dawn...

Lumberton police are investigating the driver of a Camaro that topped 120 miles per hour Monday night before crashing into another vehicle, leaving a 20-year-old pregnant woman dead.
Photo: Lumberton Fire Department

Two fatal accidents on Southeast Texas roads earlier this month, just four days and 20 miles apart, involved drivers who exceeded posted speed limits and were possibly abusing substances, resulting in four deaths and serious injury to a mother.

The drivers who caused the accidents walked away from the wrecks and are in jail, awaiting the slow turn of justice's wheels.

Killed were two teenage girls, a pregnant mother-to-be and her unborn baby boy.

They are among more than a dozen lives lost so far in 2014 to crashes on the region's roads.

The casualty list compares with a total of 40 fatal crashes in Jefferson, Hardin and Orange counties in all of 2013.

In the first six weeks of 2014, Jefferson County has had four deaths, Orange County has had four deaths, and Hardin County has had five deaths which includes an unborn child one month shy of birth. Newton County has had 2 fatalities.

On Feb. 3, two Lumberton sisters and the unborn child died when they were hit by a Camaro going 121 mph on U.S. 96 about where it merges with U.S. 69. Their mother was seriously hurt but survived.

The driver who caused the collision, Kelvin Lee Roy, 32, was driving a Mercury Sable sedan. His passenger, Taralynn Brown, who said she once had a relationship with the driver, told Vidor police he intended to kill both of them and intentionally rammed the Bertrands' vehicle.

Roy is charged with murder and is in the Orange County jail on $1 million bond.

"(These numbers) are concerning not only to citizens, but to us as well because we do have a responsibility to keep the population safe," said Beaumont Police Sgt. Rob Flores.

The force of the Lumberton collision was such that it pushed the cars a distance of almost two football fields from the point of impact.

Boyett has been charged with three counts of manslaughter in the deaths of Sterling, Burns and the unborn child and is in the Hardin County jail on a $1.5 million bond.

Timothy Burns said he thinks police were helpless to prevent the collision that killed his wife and baby.

"They (the police) did what they could," he said.

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper spotted Boyett going faster than 100 mph on U.S. 96 near Buna and tried to catch up with her but couldn't, police reported. Lumberton police were notified and an officer at U.S. 96 was northbound when he saw Boyett racing south. Police reported he turned around but couldn't catch up with her. The crash happened seconds later.

While working the crash, Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins said police found prescription Xanax in Boyett's Camaro.

In public comments on news websites, some people said police should have been able to stop the Camaro, but Burns said he believes stopping someone at that speed is next to impossible.

"She was going 120 mph. You'd have to go at least 150 just to catch up with her. And they could have put other people at risk."

An estimated 22.5 percent of fatal accidents on Texas roads are caused by drivers exceeding the speed limit, TxDOT data show. Jefferson, Hardin and Orange counties also are at the same statewide estimate.

All the accidents so far in 2014 have occurred on local highways and not Interstate 10. In 2012, most deaths occurred on a U.S. highway, like U.S. 90 or U.S. 96. Farm-to-market roads were No. 2 and interstate deaths were No. 3.